Reincarnation is called samsara in the
classic Vedic texts of India. The word samsara
is Sanskrit and means being bound to the cycle of repeated birth and death
through numerous lifetimes. How this works is that those who are materially
conditioned transmigrate through different bodies according to oneís desires
and past activities (or karma) and familiarities. Their
desires, if materially motivated, requires a physical body to enable
them to continue to work out their material longings in various conditions
of life.

Generally, in the Eastern traditions it is considered that all forms of life
or species have souls, which is the entity who reincarnates. Previous to
when an entity is ready to incarnate as a human being on Earth, the soul may
have gone through a whole series of lives in order to experience various
levels of existence and consciousness. The principle is that an entity may
actually progress through the different species of life, gradually working
their way up until they reach the human form. Of course, the body is only
the covering of the soul in which it appears. The living being will
continually move upward in its cycles of reincarnation until it has
experienced all the main varieties of existences that the material realm has
to offer. This way the living being is fully experienced in working out
material desires or longings in all kinds of forms by the time it reaches
the human stage. Of course, not every being may have to go through all of
this.

How reincarnation works is most elaborately described in the Vedic texts of
India. The Bhagavad-gita (8.6) explains
that whatever state of consciousness one attains when he or she quits this
body, a similar state will be attained in the
next life. This means that after the person has lived his or her life, the
numerous variegated activities of the person forms an aggregated
consciousness. All of our thoughts and actions throughout our life will
collectively influence the state of being we are in at the time of death.
This consciousness will determine what that person is thinking of at the end
of oneís life. This last thought and consciousness will then direct where
that person will most likely go in the next life because this state of being
carries over from this life into the next.

As it is further explained, the living entity in the material world carries
the different levels of consciousness from one body to another in the same
way the air carries aromas. In other words, we cannot see the aromas that
the air carries, yet it can be perceived by the sense of smell. In a similar
way, we cannot see the types of consciousness that the living being has
developed, but it is carried from this body at the time of death and
proceeds to another body in the next life to take up where it left off from
the preceding existence. Of course, the next life may be in another physical
body or in a subtle body in between births, or even in heavenly or hellish
states of being.

After death, one continues the consciousness that was cultivated during
life. It is our thought patterns that build the consciousness, which then
directs us toward the required experience after death. Oneís state of
consciousness or conception of life exists in the subtle body, which
consists of mind, intelligence and false ego. The soul is covered by this
subtle body, which exists within the gross material form. When the physical
vehicle can no longer function, the subtle body
and soul are forced out of it. Then, when the time is right, they are placed
in another physical frame which properly accommodates the state of mind of
the living entity. This is how the mental state which attracts the dying man
determines how he begins his next life. If the dying man is absorbed in
thoughts of material gain or sensual pleasures of wife, family, relatives,
home, etc., then he must, at some point, get another material body to
continue pursuing his worldly interests. After all, how can one satisfy his
material desires without a material body?

For this reason, it is best that a person always cultivate pious activities
and spiritual thoughts to help him or her enter a better life after death.
If a person has tried to cut the knots of attachment to materialistic life,
and engaged in spiritual activities, to the degree of advancement the person
has made, he or she can go to a heavenly realm after death, or even reach
the kingdom of God.

In any case, we can begin to understand that dying in the right
consciousness in order to become free from the cycle of birth and death is
an art that takes practice. We have to prepare for the moment of death so
that we are not caught off guard or in an unsuitable state of mind. This is
one of the purposes of yoga.

After what can be millions of births and deaths through many forms of life,
trying to satisfy all of oneís material desires, the soul may begin to get
tired of these continuous attempts for happiness that often turn out to be
so temporary. Then the person may turn toward finding spiritual meaning in
life. In oneís search for higher meaning, depending on the level of
consciousness that a person develops, he or she can gradually enter higher
and higher levels of development. Finally, if a person detects that he is
actually not this body but a spiritual being within it, and reaches a
spiritual level of consciousness, he can perfect his life so that he will
enter the spiritual strata and no longer have to incarnate in the physical
world. Thus, liberation is attained through Self-realization and the
development of devotional service to God, which is the perfection of the
spiritual path. Through human existence on Earth, the doorway
to many other planes of existence is possible,
including entrance into the spiritual world. It only depends on how we use
this life.

The idea that a person has only one life to either become qualified to enter
heaven or enter eternal damnation offers the soul no means of rehabilitation
and only endless misery. This is not reasonable. The doctrine of
reincarnation gives anyone ample scope to correct and re-educate
himself in future births. An eternity in hell means that an infinite effect
is produced by a finite cause, which is illogical. God has not created men
to become nothing more than ever-lasting fuel to feed the fires of hell.
Such a purpose in His creation would not come from an ever-loving God, but
comes from the faulty ideas of man and his imperfect conceptions of God.
After all, how many spotless men could there be in this world? Who
has such a pure character to receive an immediate pass to
heaven? The Bhagavad-gitaexplains
that even the worst sinner can cross the ocean of birth and death by
ascending the boat of transcendental knowledge. We simply have to be sincere
in reaching that boat.

Furthermore, a person reaps the results of his sinful deeds for a limited
amount of time. After being purged of oneís sins, meaning suffering the
painful reactions from oneís bad activities, a person, knowing right from
wrong, can have a fresh chance to freely work for his emancipation from
further entanglement in material life. When he deserves and attains such
freedom, the soul can enjoy perfect and eternal bliss in its devotional
union with the Supreme Being. This is why it is always encouraged for one to
strive for spiritual knowledge and the practice of enlightenment. By
developing sincere and purified devotion for the Lord, one does not have to
worry about oneís future birth. Once a person has started this path of
devotion, each life will take one closer to spiritual perfection, in
whatever situation one finds him or herself.

So a person is encouraged to repent for oneís sins or ill choices that were
made while under the influence of lust, anger or greed, and cultivate
forgiveness, purity and generosity. A person should also engage in charity,
penance, meditation, japa (personal
chanting of the Lordís holy names), kirtan
(congregational singing of the Lordís holy names), and other spiritual
practices, which destroy all sins and removes all doubts about spiritual
knowledge. Then through steady practice one can gradually reach the
spiritual world and be free from any further entanglement in reincarnation.